Cholesterol accumulation in body tissues is recognized as a prime causative factor in a number of diseases. In particular, atherosclerosis is characterized by an abnormal hardening and thickening of the arterial walls brought about by increased deposition and/or generation of fatty materials in the tissues, a principal component of which is usually cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a normal plasma component and also is present in essentially all cell membranes. For cell duplication, the cell must either manufacture more cholesterol or obtain cholesterol from the plasma pool. The cell has receptors which attract and bind cholesterol from the plasma, so that the cholesterol can be transported into the interior of the cell.
Today, it is believed that what is important in managing diseases related to cholesterol metabolism are (1) the rate of cholesterol production and (2) the factors that determine its deposition in blood vessels and other tissues. Of these two aspects, the diseases that occur are primarily related to the amounts deposited in tissues, which in turn is to some extent itself related to production rate and the amount in plasma.
Accordingly, the present invention is concerned with regulating the synthesis distribution and tissue level of body cholesterol. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with reducing abnormally high cholesterol accumulation in body tissues. As discussed hereinbefore, abnormally high cholesterol build-up in the body tissues could be as the result of the cells producing more cholesterol than needed for normal body metabolism and/or as the result of plasma cholesterol depositing in tissues in amounts beyond that needed for metabolic functions.